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Contemporary artists from or based in the Arab world are invited to apply for the Ithra Art Prize by the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra).
The King Abdulaziz Center for Global Culture (Ithra) welcomes contemporary Arab artists to enter the Ithra Art Prize for the chance to win $100,000 USD to bring their concept to life. Ithra is a renowned cultural institution in Saudi Arabia, and the open call for its 5th Ithra Art Prize, the region’s largest art prize, concludes on April 1, 2023.
Established contemporary artists and art collectives from the 22 Arab countries are eligible for the Ithra Art Award (Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen). International artists who have resided in these nations for at least ten years may also apply.
The winner will be announced on May 15, and the winning artwork for 2023 will be unveiled in June as part of Ithra’s 5th anniversary celebrations. Throughout its first three seasons, the Ithra Art Prize was presented in cooperation with Art Dubai. The winning artwork from the fourth edition was unveiled alongside the Diriyah Biennale Foundation at the Kingdom’s debut biennale.
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“The Ithra Art Prize reaffirms Ithra’s commitment to developing the creative industries in the Kingdom, the region and the wider world,” said Farah Abushullaih, Head of Museum at Ithra. “As one of the largest art grants internationally, we support artists from and based in the Arab world to develop important and meaningful work. “The Ithra Art Prize aims to inspire creative thought, broaden cultural horizons and enable talent while empowering the art ecosystem.”
Ayman Zedani from the UAE won the first edition with his spatial installation Mm, while Daniah Al Saleh from London won the second edition with Sawtam, a digital, audio-visual show based on Arabic phonemes. Fahad bin Naif of Saudi Arabia won the third edition for his installation Rakhm, which means “incubation,” and Nadia Kaabi-Linke of Berlin won for E Pluribus Unum—A Modern Fossil, which takes a reflective look at the effects of the pandemic on the travel industry and how humanity measures progress and economic growth.